Absolute position-measuring device

A position-measuring device includes: a first subassembly having a measuring standard on which at least one coded track is provided, and a scanning unit, which is able to generate position signals that may be used to generate an absolute digital position value by scanning the at least one coded track in a measuring direction; a second subassembly having at least one peripheral unit adapted to execute a supplementary or an auxiliary functionality of the position-measuring device; and a plurality of electrical lines, which connect the first subassembly and the second subassembly to each other for the transmission of electrical signals. The position-measuring device is able to be operated in an initialization mode and in a standard operating mode. All components of the first subassembly required for the operation in the standard operating mode are components that are suitable for use in a radiation region of a machine. Furthermore, an initialization memory is provided in the first subassembly, which includes the data required for the operation in the standard operating mode and which is not suitable for use in a radiation region of a machine. In the initialization mode, the content of the initialization memory is transmittable to a memory unit situated outside the radiation region. Only the content of the memory unit is used for the operation in the standard operating mode.